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The Tax screen holds your company’s tax setup. You choose one tax mode for the whole company, then set each country’s details, such as tax-inclusive pricing and business tax ID.

Where to find it

In the admin, click the Settings gear in the top bar. In the Settings sidebar, under Commerce, select Taxes.

What’s on the screen

The screen has two cards: Tax Calculation, which sets one tax mode for your whole company, and Per-Country Tax Configuration, which lists your countries. The top of the screen can also show these buttons:
  • View Change History: opens Tax change history, a read-only record of changes to your tax settings. It appears only if your role has View company details under Companies and View company country settings under Company Countries.
  • Tax Calculation Logs and Avalara Commits: appear only after you save Avalara as your tax mode, or save Per Country with at least one country set to Avalara. Your role also needs View orders list, order details, and order history under Orders. Tax Calculation Logs lists the tax quotes Fluid requested from your Avalara account. Avalara Commits lists the documents Fluid filed on your Avalara account. Both pages are read-only.

Tax Calculation

Choose one tax mode:
  • Droplet: connect your existing tax provider account through a droplet. When it’s selected, an Explore Available Droplets button appears and opens the Droplets page.
  • Custom Tax Integration: use callbacks to connect a tax provider that isn’t available as a droplet. When it’s selected, a Configure Callbacks button appears and opens the Callbacks screen.
  • Fluid’s Tax Solution: use Fluid’s pre-configured tax settings, which you can customize per country. When it’s selected, an Edit Tax Settings per Country button appears and opens the Countries screen. The Countries screen’s only tax field is Business tax ID number. Edit the other country tax settings in the Per-Country Tax Configuration card on this screen.
  • Avalara: use your own Avalara (AvaTax) account through Fluid’s built-in integration. When it’s selected, a summary of your Avalara account appears under it. The summary shows the active environment, its AvaTax host and your company code. Click Edit credentials and settings to open your Avalara credentials and Avalara settings in a side panel.
  • Free Tax: charge no tax on any order, regardless of country or cart value.
  • Per Country: set a different tax mode for each country. Once Per Country is saved, if any country’s Tax Mode is Avalara, the Avalara account summary also appears under this option, with the note Countries set to Avalara calculate tax through this Avalara account and the countries that use it.
Clicking a mode doesn’t change your settings yet. After you click one, a Save button appears at the top of the page. The new mode takes effect when you click Save.

Avalara credentials

The Avalara credentials form stores your Avalara account credentials. To open it, click Edit credentials and settings in the Avalara account summary. In a country’s tax settings or in Bulk Settings Update, click Edit credentials. You can keep one set of credentials for each environment:
  • Production and Sandbox tabs: choose which environment you’re editing. The environment Fluid uses to calculate tax has an Active badge.
  • Account ID and License Key: your AvaTax account ID and license key. On a saved environment, leave these unchanged to keep the stored values.
  • Company code: the company code from AvaTax, not your company’s name. It’s required to commit transactions.
  • Save Credentials: saves the credentials for the selected tab. This button works separately from the page’s Save button.
  • Test connection: checks the credentials in the form against the selected environment, without saving them. Any field you leave unchanged on a saved environment is tested with its stored value. The result appears under the buttons:
    • Green: Avalara accepted the credentials and found the company code.
    • Amber: Avalara accepted the credentials, but the company code wasn’t checked, because none was entered or it couldn’t be verified.
    • Red: Avalara rejected the credentials, the company code wasn’t found in the account, or Avalara couldn’t be reached.
  • Switch to production or Switch to sandbox: appears on a saved environment that isn’t active. Click it, then confirm in the dialog to make that environment the active one.
  • Remove credentials: appears on a saved environment. Click it and confirm to delete the selected tab’s credentials.
The first environment you save becomes the active one. If Sandbox is active, Fluid calculates tax against Avalara’s sandbox, and the form reminds you to activate Production before you take real orders. Saving credentials doesn’t change your tax mode. To start using Avalara, you also click Save at the top of the page.

Avalara settings

The Avalara settings card appears in the side panel, below the credentials form, and in a country’s tax settings. Its settings apply only while Avalara is your tax provider:
  • Shipping tax code: the AvaTax tax code filed on the shipping line of committed documents. The default is FR030000 (freight). Use letters and digits only, up to 25 characters.
  • Excluded products: products that are left out of the Avalara tax request and charged no tax. Click Add products to choose them, or Remove next to a product to take it off the list.
    • If every product in a cart is excluded and no shipping is charged, Fluid calculates no tax and doesn’t call Avalara.
    • If shipping is charged, the shipping is still sent to Avalara for tax.
Click Save Avalara settings to save the card. Like Save Credentials, it works separately from the page’s Save button. You see Avalara settings saved.

Per-Country Tax Configuration

The table lists your company’s countries:
  • Country: the country’s flag and name. Your default country has a Default badge.
  • Tax Mode: the country’s own tax mode. This column appears only in Per Country mode. For a country set to Avalara, it also shows the active Avalara environment, or No credentials if no environment is active.
  • Tax Setup: notes about countries whose tax is calculated through Avalara. An amber warning means two systems may act on the same tax. See What does a Tax Setup warning mean?. Gray notes are informational.
  • Tax Business ID: the country’s business tax ID, or a dash if none is set.
  • Last Updated: when the country’s settings last changed, for example Today or 3 days ago.
Use the search box to find a country by name. Click a row, or choose Edit Tax Settings from its actions menu, to open that country’s tax settings.
The Tax Mode column and the Bulk Settings Update button appear only after you save Per Country as your tax mode. Before you switch, read the warning under Choose your tax mode.

Country tax settings

The country’s tax settings open in a panel titled with the country’s name, for example Canada Tax Settings. If the country has a tax setup warning or note, it appears at the top of the panel. In Per Country mode, you choose the country’s own tax mode in the panel. In any other mode, every country uses the company-wide tax mode, and the panel edits only the country’s tax details. Some fields depend on your tax mode:
  • Tax Mode: appears only in Per Country mode. Choose Tax Droplet, Custom Tax Integration, Fluid’s Tax Solution, Avalara or Free Tax for this country.
    • For Tax Droplet, pick one of your active tax droplets. For Custom Tax Integration, pick one of your custom tax callbacks, listed by URL.
    • If you have none, the panel says so and offers Explore Available Droplets or Configure Callbacks. The panel also reminds you to set the integration’s country filters in Droplets or Callbacks settings. The Callbacks screen has no country filter field.
    • For Avalara, the Avalara account summary and the Avalara settings card appear. Click Edit credentials to change your credentials. An Avalara environment must be active before you can save.
  • Tax Strategy: appears when the country uses Fluid’s Tax Solution. The panel lists only the strategies available for the country. If you haven’t chosen one, the panel pre-selects the first.
    • Use Fluid’s tax calculation settings: Fluid calculates tax automatically from your business location, the customer’s address and applicable tax laws.
    • Use Fluid’s flat rate for this country: Fluid calculates tax from its built-in tax table.
  • Tax Calculator: replaces Tax Strategy when your company-wide mode is Droplet, Custom Tax Integration, Avalara or Free Tax. It’s a note that says how tax is calculated for every country.
  • Commit transactions to Avalara: appears only for the United States and Canada, when Avalara calculates tax for the country.
    • Turn it on to file each paid order shipping to this country as a committed sales invoice on your Avalara account. These are real tax documents on your account.
    • Fluid voids or returns the invoice when the order is canceled or fully refunded.
    • To turn it on, your Production environment must be active, and a company code must be set, either on that environment or in the country’s Avalara company code.
  • Avalara company code: appears when Avalara calculates tax for the country. It’s optional. Quotes and committed documents for orders shipping to this country use this Avalara company instead of the company code on your credentials.
  • Send Fluid product tax codes to Avalara: appears when Avalara calculates tax for the country. When it’s off, Fluid sends no tax code for this country, and Avalara rates each item by its own item mapping.
These appear in every tax mode:
  • Tax-Inclusive Pricing: turn this on to display prices with tax included, as is common with VAT. When it’s on, the panel shows:
    • Tax rate: the country’s standard rate. You can’t edit it.
    • Tax name: the tax’s name, such as GST, VAT or Sales Tax. If the country has a default tax name, the field starts with it. If it doesn’t, Tax name is required.
  • Business tax ID number: your tax registration number for this country, such as a VAT, GST or EIN number. You can also edit it on the Countries screen.
  • Legal Disclaimer: a reminder that business laws vary by country, and that your business must comply with this country’s requirements. For some countries, it adds country-specific legal information. For others, it suggests you consult local legal experts.
  • Require Gaiyo Shomen in enrollment flows: a checkbox that appears only for Japan.
The panel ends with Cancel and Save.

Choose your tax mode

Saving a new company-wide mode also changes your countries:
  • Per Country: each country uses its own Tax Mode, which may not match the mode you were using. Check the Tax Mode column right after you save, and use Bulk Settings Update or each country’s settings to set the mode you want.
  • Fluid’s Tax Solution: Fluid sets each country’s Tax Strategy to Use Fluid’s tax calculation settings, including countries that used Use Fluid’s flat rate for this country.
  • Droplet, Custom Tax Integration, Avalara or Free Tax: Fluid clears each country’s Tax Strategy.
In any mode other than Per Country, countries don’t use the droplet or callback chosen in their settings. Fluid keeps each choice, and a country uses it again when you switch back to Per Country. If that droplet or callback was removed in the meantime, choose a new one for the country.
To use Avalara, follow Connect your Avalara account instead. If you’re switching to Droplet or Custom Tax Integration, set up the integration first. Click Droplet, then Explore Available Droplets, and install a tax droplet. Or click Custom Tax Integration, then Configure Callbacks, and set up your tax callback on the Callbacks screen. Either button leaves the Tax screen without saving the mode you clicked.
1

Select the mode

On the Tax screen (Taxes in the Settings sidebar), click the mode you want in the Tax Calculation card.
2

Save

Click Save at the top of the page. You see Tax settings updated successfully.

Connect your Avalara account

1

Select Avalara

In the Tax Calculation card, click Avalara. The Avalara account summary appears under it. Click Edit credentials and settings to open the side panel.
2

Choose an environment

Click the Production or Sandbox tab.
3

Enter your credentials

Enter your Account ID and License Key. In Company code, enter the company code from AvaTax, not your company’s name. You need a company code to use Commit transactions to Avalara.
4

Test the connection

Click Test connection. A green result means Avalara accepted the credentials and found the company code. Fix anything the result reports before you save.
5

Save the credentials

Click Save Credentials. You see Avalara credentials saved. If this is the first environment you’ve saved, it becomes the active one.
6

Save the tax mode

Click Save at the top of the page. Save stays unavailable until an Avalara environment is active.
To change the shipping tax code or exclude products, click Edit credentials and settings, update the Avalara settings card and click Save Avalara settings. To switch environments, click Edit credentials and settings, open the other tab and click Switch to production or Switch to sandbox. Confirm in the dialog.

Edit a country’s tax settings

1

Open the country

In the Per-Country Tax Configuration card, click the country’s row, or choose Edit Tax Settings from its actions menu.
2

Change its settings

Update the fields you need. In Per Country mode, choose the country’s Tax Mode, and pick a droplet or callback if the mode needs one.
3

Save

Click Save. You see Country tax settings updated.
Save stays unavailable while a required choice is missing, such as a tax integration or a required Tax name. If someone else changed the country after you opened it, nothing is saved. The panel shows the current values and says so. Make your changes again and click Save.

Update several countries at once

1

Open the bulk update

In Per Country mode, click Bulk Settings Update in the Per-Country Tax Configuration card. The Bulk Tax Settings Update panel opens.
2

Choose a tax mode

Under Tax Mode, choose Tax Droplet, Custom Tax Integration, Fluid’s Tax Solution, Avalara or Free Tax. Fluid’s Tax Solution is selected when the panel opens. For Tax Droplet or Custom Tax Integration, also pick the integration. For Avalara, the Avalara account summary appears, and an environment must be active.
3

Select the countries

Under Select Countries, check each country to update. Use the search box to filter the list. Select All checks every country in the filtered list, or unchecks them if they’re all checked. The heading shows how many countries you’ve selected.
4

Apply

Click Apply. You see Bulk tax settings updated.
A bulk update changes the tax mode, plus the integration for Tax Droplet or Custom Tax Integration. It doesn’t change a country’s inclusive pricing, tax name or business tax ID. Moving a country off Fluid’s Tax Solution clears its Tax Strategy.

FAQ

Different parts of this screen need different permissions on your role:
  • Company-wide tax mode: your role needs Access order settings and configuration (Checkout, Shipping, Taxes) under Orders, and Edit company details under Companies. Without the first, no Save button appears for the tax mode. Without the second, saving shows Error updating tax settings.
  • Country tax settings: your role needs Edit company country settings under Company Countries. Without it, a country’s panel has no Save button.
  • Avalara credentials and Avalara settings: your role needs Edit company details under Companies. Without it, the form says You do not have permission to change Avalara credentials, and the card says You do not have permission to change Avalara settings.
Orders is in the Commerce card of your role’s Permissions tab, and Companies and Company Countries are in the Settings card. Ask an admin who manages roles to update your role. See Roles.
You can’t remove the active environment’s credentials while Avalara is your company-wide tax mode, or while any country’s own Tax Mode is Avalara. If you try, you see Avalara is the selected tax provider; select another provider before removing the active credentials.Each country keeps its own Tax Mode when you change the company-wide mode. You can see it in the Tax Mode column only after you save Per Country, so read the warning under Choose your tax mode first. If you’d rather not switch modes, contact support.
Email Fluid support at help@fluid.app. The Getting help page lists what to include in your request.
To change the active environment’s license key, you don’t need to remove its credentials. Open its tab, enter the new license key and click Save Credentials.You can always remove an environment that isn’t active. If you remove the active environment and the other one has saved credentials, the other one becomes active.
While any country that uses Avalara has Commit transactions to Avalara turned on, you can’t switch to the other environment. Invoices already filed stay on the Avalara account of the environment they were filed in. If you need to switch, contact support before you turn off Commit transactions to Avalara.
Email Fluid support at help@fluid.app. The Getting help page lists what to include in your request.
Fluid refuses to turn on Commit transactions to Avalara when the country can’t file documents. The error says which check failed:
  • Avalara must calculate tax for the country, and the country must be the United States or Canada.
  • Your Production environment must be active.
  • A company code must be set, on the Production credentials or in the country’s Avalara company code.
  • The Avalara droplet must not be filing your orders. If you also have the Avalara droplet installed and its order webhooks are active, both systems would file the same orders to Avalara. In that case the error says commits cannot be turned on while the Avalara droplet is filing this company’s orders.
To fix the droplet case, turn off commits in the Avalara droplet and remove its order webhooks, then turn on Commit transactions to Avalara again. If you’re not sure how to do this, contact support.
Email Fluid support at help@fluid.app. The Getting help page lists what to include in your request.
An amber warning in the Tax Setup column, or at the top of a country’s panel, means two systems may act on the same tax for that country:
  • Built-in Avalara is quoting tax here, and a tax droplet is also registered for this country: Fluid calculates the country’s tax through Avalara, and a tax droplet also covers the country. One system may charge tax while another files it. Decide which one should handle the country. If the droplet should, in Per Country mode set the country’s Tax Mode to Tax Droplet. If Fluid should, change the droplet’s country filters in Droplets settings so they leave out this country.
  • Fluid and the Avalara droplet are both filing this country’s orders to Avalara: Commit transactions to Avalara is on, and the Avalara droplet’s order webhooks became active again. Turn off commits in the Avalara droplet and remove its order webhooks, or turn off Commit transactions to Avalara for the country.
Gray notes, such as Avalara commit is turned off, are informational. If you use Fluid’s Tax Solution, you can expect them on countries whose tax is calculated through Avalara on Fluid’s account.Warnings and notes reflect your saved settings. They update after you save a change, not while you edit.
Email Fluid support at help@fluid.app. The Getting help page lists what to include in your request.